Modular connectors such as RJ45 plugs and jacks have become widely used in network connectivity. Such connectors can now be found throughout places such as data centers, building and campus networks, and homes. In some instances, the modular plugs and jacks are designed as shielded connectors. This can improve the connectors' electrical performance and is typically done by providing metallic (or otherwise conductive) shields around a plug and a corresponding jack. In case of the plug, the metallic plug shield may cover a portion of a plastic plug housing, forming seams between the plug shield and the plug housing along the sides of the plug. In case of the jack, a metallic shield may cover a portion of the jack housing with one or two metallic tabs extending into the jack's plug-aperture. This design allows the metallic shield of the plug and jack to form a conductive interface (via the contact between the plug shield and the metallic tabs of the jack) when the two connectors are mated. However, one potential drawback of such a design becomes sometimes apparent when one attempts to disengage a shielded plug from a shielded jack.
The seams, which extend along the sides of the shield plugs and are formed between the plug shield and the plug housing, provide a cavity (see cavity/gap 21 shown in FIG. 4). When a shielded plug is mated with a shielded jack, the edges of the metallic tabs of the shielded jack come in contact with the cavities formed by seams on the sides of the plugs. Due to the backward-facing nature of the metallic tabs and their pivoting point relative to the seams when the plug is being inserted into the jack, the contact between the tabs and the seams usually does not pose an a problem with respect to mating. This is because continued mating pressure on the plug will usually cause the tabs to be pushed out of the cavities and make contact with the shielded portion of the plug. However, when a user attempts to disengage a plug, the resiliency and the design of some of the tabs may cause them to fall into the cavities formed by the seams, trapping the plug inside the jack. Such entrapment/snagging can cause a user to apply excessive force to remove a plug, damaging the plug, jack, or cabling in the process. Thus, there exists a continued need for improved shielded connectors.